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Wellness coach inspires, raises funds through triathlon BY MADELINE LEWIS Foothills Focus Staff Writer
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nthem resident Dr. Brian Hester is always looking for ways to challenge himself and stay in shape, and there’s no better physical challenge than an Ironman Triathlon — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. Hester is the owner of Back to Health of Anthem, a wellness and chiropractic center, and he wants to encourage local people in their fitness journey. “I want to help people step outside their current rut and be more productive members of the community,” Hester said. “I’m more of a wellness coach. What we do at Back to Health of Anthem is motivate people to change their life through small daily changes.” In order to help motivate the community, Hester regularly posts blogs on his website and sends out a newsletter to keep people up to date with his six-month-long training program and to keep himself accountable. “Five percent of the population will do what they’re told, but 95% of people need an accountability partner,” Hester said. When preparing for a race, Hester’s accountability partner is his coach, with whom he sits down and plans goals. Hester has a rigorous training period ahead of him, but this isn’t his first race. He completed an Ironman 10 years ago and has also participated in half-Ironmans and Olympic distance races since then. While the physical training is an obvious challenge, Hester said it’s not the worst part. The first discomfort is the Arizona heat. With the race in November, the six-month training period is during the hottest time of the year.
“The biggest challenge is time management and training in the heat,” Hester said. “Most Ironman training will have to be at 4:30 or 5 a.m.” The order of the triathlon is to swim first, then bike, then run. To prepare, Hester chooses one activity at a time. By practicing all three, the training pays off. His training schedule also includes intermittent practice races over the summer in Flagstaff and Tempe. Another difficult aspect of training is nutrition. It can be difficult to find the right balance of foods and liquids to take in while active, but ensuring the body has proper nutrients is imperative. “Nutrition is hard because you have to figure out what to consume,” Hester shared. “You’re going to want to eat the same things while you’re training as you will when you complete the race. If you eat or drink too much liquid, it’s not good. You can be super fit, but if you don’t hydrate well or support your body’s needs, you can crash or do what’s called ‘bonking,’ when your body gives out and has no energy.” The upcoming Ironman is in Tempe on Sunday, Nov. 21. His goal is to not only finish in under 12 hours but also to raise at least $12,000 for charity, as he explained in a social media post. “As we kick this off, my plan is to share with you the ‘what’ behind the ‘why.’ Why Ironman? Because I can, and I need goals to make me work and not get lazy. Since I decided to bite this off again 10 years after my last Ironman, I thought it should be for a good cause. This time we are aiming to raise between $12-15K for Youth for Troops. Such a cool organization,” Hester said. Youth for Troops is an Anthem-based
nonprofit that makes care packages for local and deployed veterans and participates in various other service projects. With family in the military, Hester said the organization “hit home” for him. “There will be a lot of different events and ways to donate — people can make a flat donation or they can sponsor a veteran,” Hester said. “We have some cool things like fundraiser nights and a dodgeball tournament planned. … If we can average $2,000 a month in donations, we can get to our goal of $12,000 for Youth for Troops.” With this goal, Hester has a lot more than just his training coach and fol-
lowers to keep him accountable; he has a whole organization rooting for him and anticipating his support. Hester continues to post updates about his training on his website and looks forward to upcoming fundraising events. Though he is the one embarking on this journey, he said it is meant to be for the entire community. Ironman Triathlon
WHEN: Nov. 21 WHERE: Various locations in Tempe COST: $178-$636 INFO: myanthemhealth.com/ironman ironman.com/im-arizona
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2021
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